Each edition grades its towns against each other only.
The town has 4,201 residents and lies in Clwyd, Wales. 57% of households own their home outright.
Plenty to like here, at a price. It is a safe place by the numbers: 13 violent and sexual offences and 3.7 home and vehicle crimes per 1,000 residents a year. Health is a strength: 4.6% of residents report bad or very bad health, and 18.4% are disabled. What counts against it is cost of living — homes sell for a median £266,000, about 6 times local household income. Overall, that makes a B+, good for #5 of 39 in Clwyd. Set against the rest, it does better than 70% of UK towns. The rest of its grades are middling: B for jobs & income and B− for hazard risk.
Figures: crime, police.uk, averaged Sep 2023 to Aug 2026 · health, Census 2021 (the grade adjusts for age) · prices, HM Land Registry, the last three years · income, ONS · claimants, DWP · flood risk, Natural Resources Wales.
This town's Health Grade uses ONS's small-area life expectancy and healthy life expectancy for 2019 to 2023, and two Census 2021 measures, bad health and disability, adjusted for age. English towns' grades also use OHID's small-area early deaths, hospital admissions and child obesity, which OHID publishes for England only.
The 3 things Penrhyn Bay does most differently from other towns.
Each subject compared with the 2,160 UK towns with an overall grade (schools within Wales), ordered by how far Penrhyn Bay is from typical. American towns are graded separately.
How TownRatings grades towns →
Cadw lists them inside Penrhyn Bay’s built-up area, along with 1 scheduled monument.
12% of its homes were built before 1919, against 15% in the typical UK town.
Explore the history →Museums, castles, gardens and days out in and near Penrhyn Bay. Best known first.
Castle · CadwConwy Castle4.2 km outside town, to the southwest
CastleDeganwy Castle3.4 km outside town, to the southwest
Historic houseThe Smallest House in Great Britain4.2 km outside town, to the southwest
Fort · CadwConwy Town Walls4.4 km outside town, to the southwest
ZooWelsh Mountain Zoo2.3 km outside town, to the southeast
Art galleryMostyn2.6 km outside town, to the westPhotos: each place’s Wikidata image, from Wikimedia Commons under the licence below (our copy, resized).
Data highlights are ordered by what stands out in Penrhyn Bay.
37% of adults hold a degree, above Clwyd’s towns (29%) and Wales’s towns (31%) alike. Young adults of 15 to 24 are 7.6% of the population. Half of Penrhyn Bay is older than 54.6, half younger. The under-15s are 12% of the population here.
52% women, 48% men
About 94 men for every 100 women. Across Wales, 51% of residents are women. Women live longer than men, so towns with many older residents have more women.
| Penrhyn Bay | Clwyd | Wales | |
|---|---|---|---|
| Under 15 | 12% | 17% | 17% |
| 15–24 | 7.6% | 10% | 12% |
| 25–44 | 18% | 23% | 25% |
| 45–64 | 28% | 27% | 26% |
| 65+ | 34% | 23% | 21% |
| No qualifications | 14% | 20% | 20% |
| Apprenticeship | 6.8% | 6.5% | 5.6% |
| A levels or similar | 16% | 17% | 17% |
| Degree level | 37% | 29% | 31% |
ONS Census 2021 · Clwyd and Wales: all residents of their built-up areas · OGL
All of them are below. Some 994 pupils attend Penrhyn Bay’s one primary and one secondary.
| School | Level | Pupils | Letter |
|---|---|---|---|
| Ysgol GlanwyddenLargest primary schoolPrimary | Primary | 296 | – |
| Ysgol Y CreuddynLargest secondary schoolSecondary | Secondary | 698 | – |
Police recorded 114 crimes inside Penrhyn Bay’s built-up area in the 12 months to August 2026, plus 38 reports of anti-social behaviour. For its size, Penrhyn Bay records less crime per resident than 95% of the 1,308 UK towns of 2,500 to 10,000 people. Violence and sexual offences made up just over three fifths of the total.
Not gradedAnti-social behaviour, shoplifting and other theft are shown but left out of the Safety Grade, which counts violence and crimes against homes and vehicles per resident.
data.police.uk street-level crime · points inside the ONS built-up-area boundary · OGL · The police category of violence and sexual offences includes harassment and stalking.
Private renters make up 15% of households, lower than both Clwyd’s towns (17%) and Wales’s towns (17%). 1% of households rent from a council or housing body. From September 2023 to August 2026, 268 homes sold inside Penrhyn Bay’s built-up area at standard prices; the middle one went for £266,000.
| By type | Median | Sales |
|---|---|---|
| Detached | £315,000 | 143 |
| Semi-detached | £225,000 | 75 |
| Terraced | £211,000 | 28 |
| Flat or maisonette | £87,250 | 22 |
HM Land Registry Price Paid · ONS private rents · MHCLG / Welsh Government council tax · ONS Census 2021 tenure · OGL
One GP practice serves the town. Self-reported good health: just over four fifths of Penrhyn Bay’s residents. The nearest A&E to Penrhyn Bay is Ysbyty Glan Clwyd, 11.9 miles away.
| Census 2021 | Penrhyn Bay | Clwyd | Wales |
|---|---|---|---|
| Good or very good health | 81% | 79% | 78% |
| Bad or very bad health | 4.6% | 6.5% | 7.1% |
| Disabled (Equality Act) | 18% | 22% | 22% |
ONS Census 2021, general health and disability · ONS, life expectancy 2019–23 · OGL · These shares come straight from the census, without allowing for age, and young towns benefit; the Health Grade instead weighs age-adjusted measures, including life expectancy.
The Census was taken on 21 March 2021, in lockdown, so 22% of workers were mainly at home; shares here are of those who travelled.
At the census, 88% of commuters went by car. Unemployment benefit claims came to 1.9% of 16 to 64s in 2026, lower than both Clwyd’s towns (2.9%) and Wales’s towns (3%). There are 0.3 jobs in Penrhyn Bay for each resident in work.
ONS Census 2021, method of travel and distance to work · ONS small-area income · DWP claimant count · OGL
The heritage lists give each building’s grade but not its age, so we don’t say which is oldest.
Homes from before 1919 make up 12% of the total, below Clwyd’s towns (18%) and Wales’s towns (27%) alike. Grade II* covers 1 of them. Also worth knowing: the national list protects one ancient monument in Penrhyn Bay.
Cadw list, October 2026 · Valuation Office Agency, homes by build period · OGL
The nearest built-up areas, from ONS’s 2022 boundaries. See them on the map →
| Town | People | Miles | Overall | Cost | Safety | Health |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| Penrhyn Bay | 4,201 | — | B+ | C− | A | A− |
| Llandudno | 14,699 | 2.1 | D | B− | D− | C− |
| Colwyn Bay | 29,273 | 2.4 | D | C+ | D | C− |
| Conwy | 15,706 | 2.6 | C− | C | C | C+ |
| Llansanffraid Glan Conwy | 1,663 | 3.6 | — | C | A | C+ |
| Mynydd Marian | 1,351 | 5.5 | — | B− | B | C |
| Dwygyfylchi | 1,403 | 5.7 | — | C | A | C |
| Llanddulas | 1,097 | 5.8 | — | C+ | C− | C− |
Llansanffraid Glan Conwy, Mynydd Marian, Dwygyfylchi and Llanddulas have fewer than 2,500 residents, so they get subject grades but no overall grade. People: Census 2021. Miles: centre to centre.
Band D council tax in Penrhyn Bay is £2,473 for 2026–27, more than in 57% of UK towns (the Conwy council average, with police and community councils). Your own bill depends on your home’s band; check it on GOV.UK.
Town in Clwyd, Wales
Penrhyn Bay is a built-up area of 4,201 people, in the Conwy council area. TownRatings uses ONS’s 2022 built-up areas as towns: the physical town, as people mean the word, rather than a council district, so its figures cover the town itself.
Built from ONS geography and Census 2021
Sources: ONS Census 2021, output areas summed to the ONS 2022 built-up area · HM Land Registry Price Paid (standard sales, September 2023 to August 2026) · ONS Price Index of Private Rents (August 2026, by council) · MHCLG and Welsh Government council tax, Band D 2026–27 (with parish precepts in England) · data.police.uk street-level crime, 36 months to August 2026, points inside the built-up-area boundary · ONS small-area life expectancy and healthy life expectancy, 2019 to 2023 (England and Wales), OHID Fingertips small-area indicators (England) and Census 2021 health, adjusted for age · ONS small-area income estimates (financial year ending 2023) · DWP claimant count via Nomis (January to August 2026) · Cadw listed buildings, scheduled monuments and registered historic parks and gardens via DataMapWales, October 2026, inside the ONS 2022 built-up-area boundary · Valuation Office Agency, Council Tax: stock of properties by build period (31 March 2025) · TownRatings grades: our own summary of the data, ranked against UK towns only. All under the Open Government Licence v3.0.
Contains public sector information licensed under the Open Government Licence v3.0. Contains HM Land Registry data © Crown copyright and database right 2026. Contains OS data © Crown copyright and database right 2026 (ONS boundaries). Northern Ireland: Source: NISRA; contains Land & Property Services data and Ordnance Survey of Northern Ireland information, © Crown copyright, licensed under the Open Government Licence v3.0. Scotland: contains National Records of Scotland data, Registers of Scotland data and SEPA data, © Crown copyright / © SEPA 2025, licensed under the Open Government Licence v3.0.